By Benjamin Cuaresma
MANILA — Former Reading Association of the Philippines president Frederick Soto Perez has expressed concern over the findings of the Second Congressional Commission on Education (EdCom 2), which revealed that around 1.3 million Grade 11 students are struggling with reading comprehension.
Perez said the report highlights the need for stronger implementation of reading intervention programs to help students who continue to face difficulties in reading and understanding lessons.
According to him, the country’s education system needs a clear and consistent direction in improving the basic and functional literacy of learners from Kindergarten to Grade 10 to ensure they are fully prepared before entering senior high school.
Perez also pointed to the frequent changes in the curriculum as one of the challenges affecting the development of students’ foundational learning skills.
He stressed that teachers must be equipped to effectively implement the government’s “Aral Program” and other literacy interventions, noting that students have different learning needs and capacities.
“There’s no one-size-fits-all module which we can use,” Perez said, emphasizing that teaching approaches should be adjusted depending on the needs of each learner.
Despite the challenges, Perez remains hopeful that literacy concerns in the country can still be addressed through stronger collaboration among teachers, schools, and the government.
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